Washington--States and the federal government should adopt a range
of policies--including changing school-funding formulas and
implementing family-literacy programs--to reverse a steep decline in
the number of young adults pursuing General Educational Development
certificates, officials from the American Council on Education said
here last week.

Releasing the results of a survey of 1989 candidates for the
high-school-diploma-equivalent certificate, the officials noted that
the number of 18- to 24-year-olds who took the test declined by 26
percent since 1980, the last time the council conducted a similar
survey.

Moreover, they said, less than 1.3 percent of the estimated 51
million adults over age 18 without high-school diplomas took the tests
in 1989.

"There are a very large number of adults who could benefit from the
program, but are not participating," said Douglas Whitney, director of
the GED testing service at the ace

To enhance access to the program, Mr. Whitney suggested, all states
should pay adult-education agencies for the services they provide,
rather than for enrollments in classes, and should pay for the costs of
textbooks and of taking the GED tests.

"It's asinine to assume someone between 18 and 21 is no longer
eligible for state aid," said Gary Eyre, director of adult education
for the Arizona Department of Education.

In addition, Mr. Whitney urged the creation of family-literacy
programs that encourage parents without diplomas to attend schools
alongside their children.

"The parent-child connection is really critical," he said. "Unless
this dual set of needs is taken care of, the next generation will be
looking at the same situation."

Educational Requirements

Created in 1942, the GED program offers adults who do not have
diplomas an opportunity to earn a credential that is accepted for
admission at most colleges and universities and is recognized as
equivalent to a diploma by many employers.

Each year, about 700,000 adults--about half of whom are under the
age of 25--take the GED test, which measures the outcomes of a
four-year high-school program of study in writing skills, social
studies, science, literature and the arts, and mathematics. In 1989,
some 375,000 students passed the test and earned the credential.

The survey released last week found that, contrary to popular
perceptions, an increasing number of adults took the test in order to
meet requirements for postsecondary education. About 200,000 adults, or
one-third of the test-takers, reported taking the test for that reason,
compared with 29 percent in 1980. By contrast, the number who said they
took the test for employment reasons or for "personal satisfaction"
declined over the decade.

The number of test-takers who studied before taking the examination
increased over the last decade, the survey found, and those who did
study did so for longer periods of time. Perhaps as a result, said Mr.
Eyre, many states report waiting lists for GED-preparation classes.

The survey also offered a glimpse into reasons students drop out of
high school. The number of candidates who said they dropped out because
they were not doing well in school dropped by half over the past
decade, while the proportion who said they did so because of pregnancy
or marriage tripled during that time.

Mr. Whitney noted that the increase in the number who cited
pregnancy as a reason could be a good sign, since it shows an
"increased recognition that further education is valuable."

In addition, Janet Baldwin, senior research associate at the GED
testing service, noted that most of the candidates who gave pregnancy
as a reason for dropping out were between ages 25 and 45. Many of the
younger pregnant girls may be staying in school longer than in the
past, she suggested.

The report issued last week, "GED Candidates: A Decade of Change,"
is the first in a series of seven reports based on the survey.
Subscriptions to the series are available for $65 by contacting the GED
Testing Service, American Council on Education, Publications Department
PAT, 1 Dupont Circle, Washington, D.C. 20036.

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